It’s Election Day and Georgia voters are casting ballots to select Democratic and Republican candidates for scores of races — including governor, the U.S. Senate, state legislators and members of Congress.
Follow The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for unparalleled coverage all day. When polls close at 7 p.m. the AJC is your source for results. Our team of experienced journalists will be with the leading candidates around the state, and will help you make sense of what happened and what comes next.
A judge has rescinded an order that would have allowed State Election Board members and Republican observers into a building where unofficial results will be compiled.
Georgia election officials say the court order Tuesday was flawed because it was based on misrepresentations.
Votes are counted by counties and then reported to the state, and no tabulation takes place in the state's "emergency operations center," also known as the "bunker."
"There have been accusations that we could change those numbers. That's a pretty far-fetched concept because as soon as we do that, a few days from now, when the certified results came in, they wouldn't be the same," said Deputy Secretary of State Matt Tyser. "I can't tell you really why this has become the issue it has."
Republican politicians running for higher office Tuesday, including state Sen. Greg Dolezal, say they need access to ensure transparency.
"The people of Georgia deserve honest, observable elections," Dolezal, who is running for lieutenant governor, wrote on X. Dolezal had filed the lawsuit seeking entry to the election operations center.
The secretary of state's office disputed Fulton County Superior Court Judge Ural Glanville's contention in his order that state election officials had an opportunity to respond to chose not to. Election officials say they weren't notified of a hearing Tuesday morning.
Atlanta's Benjamin Kasavan supported Jason Esteves in the Democratic primary for governor today, swayed by recommendations from friends. But he was more animated about voting against former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, whom he said did not do enough to support affordable housing and Beltline rail.
"I don't have the best opinion of her," he said.
At the same Park Tavern precinct, Andrew Chartrand had a different view.
“I just got to say I love Keisha Lance Bottoms. She’s been great for Atlanta,” he said. “I feel like she just seemed to be on the right side of things when making decisions.”
Chartrand is hoping for a good performance for Democrats come November, but is also bracing himself for unwelcome surprises.
“I feel like in today's politics, you kind of never know what direction things will swing in. I mean, we live in a city that can be an echo chamber, and people who live in other places also live in their own similar echo chambers. So, at times, it's hard to predict what will happen,” he said.
Layn Williams said she and her family members will also back Bottoms.
“We ended up going for Keisha because we were supporting Stacey Abrams in previous elections and she holds a lot of the same policies that Stacey was running for in the first place,” she said.
The issues that drove Williams to the polls are education policy and the cost of health insurance she said.
“Insurance policies are skyrocketing. It doesn’t make any type of sense.”
Yes, this is already a lot. We will have a roundup of the biggest happenings of the day in a special Politics PM newsletter this afternoon (sign up here).
And subscribers, if you aren't already, get in the weeds with the Politically Georgia crew tomorrow morning.
George Meadows, 59, a recently retired Bibb County sheriff’s deputy and a Republican voter, cast his ballot at a Baptist church Tuesday on Macon’s south side.
In the governor’s race, he voted for Rick Jackson. And while President Donald Trump endorsed Jackson’s Republican rival Burt Jones, Meadows sees some of Trump in Jackson.
“I like the way a businessman is running the country. I like the idea of trying that for the state of Georgia,” said Meadows, who worked law enforcement for 35 years. “I just like the concept. I voted for Trump every time and he’s doing a pretty good job of handling the country, especially the economy, so far. We’re having a little problem with the (price of) gas right now, but to me that’s something that’s absolutely necessary.”
Another Macon voter, Shameca Jordan, 42, hopes more young people take the election seriously.
“It’s time to care about something,” she said. “Sitting around and not caring is not (helpful) no matter which side you’re on.”
Jordan, a postal worker raised in a Navy family, can’t help noticing the campaign flyers she delivers to mailboxes. But she says as widely available as such materials and other candidate advertisements are she doesn’t hear much in the way of political discourse.
“No one even talks about politics in the circles that I’m in,” Jordan, who is also an Uber driver, said. “Unless I’m in the car with someone that is mature. … I don’t think enough people care.”
Voting at Ison Springs Elementary School in Sandy Springs is suspended while the site is on a “soft lockdown” because of police activity at a nearby park, a Fulton County spokesperson said.
Everyone is safe, but voting was suspended at about 11:40 a.m., according to spokesperson Regina Waller. Fulton County is working to extend voting hours at the site.
Sandy Springs police said on social media that Morgan Falls Overlook Park is closed due to an active police investigation. Police asked the public to "please avoid the area." Police have not responded to requests for more information.
The school is a roughly 2 mile drive from the park address.
Class is in session at the school, according to Fulton County Schools spokesperson Brian Noyes. Noyes, in an email to the AJC, said Sandy Springs police recommended the soft lockdown. School officials will work with police officers from both the district and Sandy Springs to assist with an adjusted student dismissal.
Georgia Supreme Court challengers Jen Jordan and Miracle Rankin are asking the U.S. Supreme Court for emergency intervention in their lawsuit against the Georgia Judicial Qualifications Commission.
The JQC, the state agency that investigates and prosecutes allegations of judicial misconduct, published statements Monday alleging Jordan and Rankin violated the Georgia Code of Judicial Conduct.
Jordan and Rankin, plaintiff attorneys seeking to unseat incumbent justices in nonpartisan judicial elections, shouldn’t have promised to restore abortion rights or endorsed one another in campaign material, the JQC said.
The state agency published the statements about Jordan and Rankin after a ruling Sunday by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The ruling put on hold an order from a federal judge in Albany who on Friday blocked the JQC from publishing the statements until after Tuesday’s elections.
In their appeal to the Supreme Court, Jordan and Rankin asked it to wipe out the 11th Circuit’s ruling and force the JQC to unpublish the statements.
The court has not yet decided the request.
Georgia Republicans are gaining ground on Election Day, but Democrats still hold a significant turnout advantage overall.
The Georgia Secretary of State’s office says Republican primary voters slightly outnumber Democratic voters among the roughly 400,000 ballots cast so far Tuesday.
But Democrats entered Election Day with an early-vote edge of roughly 150,000 ballots statewide, giving the party a cushion Republicans are still trying to erase.
The turnout battle matters beyond bragging rights. Democrats hope their advantage boosts candidates in the closely watched Georgia Supreme Court races, where the party is backing challengers Jen Jordan and Miracle Rankin in officially nonpartisan contests.
Among the down ballot contests getting more attention than usual in these midterms are the races for two seats on the Georgia Public Service Commission.
As the state's top utility regulator, the PSC plays a major role in the lives of most Georgians. The PSC's five members set the rates that Georgia Power, the state's largest electric utility, can charge its customers. Commissioners also dictate how much profit the monopoly utility can earn and the sources it uses to generate electricity.
After 20-plus years of GOP dominance on the PSC, Democrats managed to flip two seats in November. And while Republicans still maintain a narrow 3-to-2 edge, Democrats could grab control of the commission if they sweep both races this fall. The results of Tuesday's primaries could decide who faces off in those two pivotal races later this year.
In the District 3 Republican primary, former PSC commissioner Fitz Johnson is running to reclaim his old seat against political newcomer and purchasing manager Brandon Martin. The winner of the GOP contest will face incumbent Commissioner Peter Hubbard, who's running unopposed in the Democratic Primary.
The primaries for the PSC's District 5 seat are more crowded. For the Republicans, mediator Bobby Mehan, lawyer Carolyn Roddy and engineer Joshua Tolbert are facing off. On the Democratic side, the candidates are attorney Craig Cupid, political operative Shelia Edwards, and professor and businesswoman Angelia Pressley.
The candidates in each race must live in the district they're running in, but PSC commissioners are elected statewide, so voters across Georgia will see both contests on their ballots.
Cobb County said technical issues with the poll pad devices used to check in voters are causing delays at "isolated" polling locations.
The county's elections department said on Tuesday afternoon that it is working with the Secretary of State's office to "deploy additional poll pads."
"In the meantime, polling places are successfully utilizing backup manual check-in procedures to ensure voting continues without interruption," the county said.
It was not immediately clear how many precincts were affected. The AJC has asked for additional information.
This morning, an East Cobb voter said her precinct on Johnson Ferry Road had only one of the four voter check-in machines working.
"Voting has not stopped, and all voters in line will be able to cast their ballot," the county said Tuesday afternoon. "We ask for the public’s patience and understanding as poll workers continue to assist voters and implement these procedures as quickly and efficiently as possible."
Outside Parkside Elementary School in Grant Park, Fabienne Moore said today was primarily about the “big picture” and exercising her right to vote.
However, there were still statewide issues that influenced her choices on the ballot.
“I’m concerned about voter suppression in this country,” she said.
Kendra Little said she was worried about the political direction Georgia has been taking. Little was particularly concerned about protecting voters’ rights and influence from the Trump administration.
“Past elections have been kind of run under (Trump’s) tutelage,” she said, adding that there is too much of a “handshake” between the president and current Gov. Brian Kemp.
“(The next governor) is going to be someone who is the catalyst of moving away from gerrymandering and those sorts of things,” said Little, who ultimately chose to stand behind former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.
Garland Edgerton said he’s not “at all” happy with the current political landscape. “They’re trying to push us back to ‘50s and the ‘60s,” said Edgerton.
"They’re trying to take things away from minorities, make us seem insignificant when we should have more of a voice than what we do.”
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